Raymond J. 'Jack' Nicklas
Raymond J. “Jack” Nicklas, 85, of Richland Township, formerly of Middlesex Township, passed away Saturday afternoon at St. Barnabas Nursing Home after a brief stay.
Born in Butler on April 19, 1929, he was the son of the late Raymond G. and Agnes R. Dodds Nicklas.
A 1951 graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega. He met his future wife, Joy, in Des Moines.
Jack was a Realtor at Agnes R. Nicklas and Associates Realty, which was founded by his mother, the late Agnes R. Nicklas, in 1953. He also was cofounding partner of Nicklas, King & McConahy, an appraisal and accounting firm. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Realtor's Association and was a four-year director for the Butler County Board of Realtors. He had served for 16 years as a member of the Butler County Development Board. Jack also had served for 10 years as the secretary for the Middlesex Township School Authority.
He was an 81-year member of the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown.
Jack was a charter member of the Rich-Mar Rotary Club, where he served as secretary and treasurer for 1970 to 1972 and as president in 1974. He served as Rotary District 7280 governor in 1977 and was a Paul Harris Fellow many times over. He was co-chairman for Rotary's Polio Plus campaign for the district, raising monies to help eradicate polio throughout the world.
He served many years on the Butler County AAA Board and was president when Butler AAA merged with AAA of Western Pennsylvania. He then served as a representative on the AAA Board of Western Pennsylvania.
Jack had served on the Pennsylvania State Board of the Easter Seals Foundation for two terms as well as the local board of Easter Seals.
He received his 50 years of service award as a member of the John E. Mair Lodge 729, F. & A.M. in Mars in 2001 and was a member of the Naco Caravan 19, the Gourges Lodge of Perfection, Syria Shrine, and the Royal Order of Jester's Pittsburgh Court 2.
An avid golfer, Jack was a 74-year member of the Butler Country Club, where he had two holes-in-one. He also served on the board of directors of the West Penn Golf Association, as well as chairman of the caddie scholarship fund for the WPGA.
Surviving are his wife of 61 years, Joy Fletcher Nicklas, who he married on June 21, 1953; his two daughters, Melinda N. Meighan and her husband, Jim, of Bradford Woods, and Melanie N. Hynden and her husband, Douglas, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and his two grandchildren, Kyle N. Hynden of Cincinnati and First Lt. Richard Hynden, USMC of Corpus Christi, Texas.
Nicklas— The friends of Raymond J. “Jack” Nicklas, who passed away Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014, will be received from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home, 238 Crowe Ave., Mars.Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown, 5825 Heckert Road, Bakerstown. Please meet at the church. Officiating at the service will be the Rev. Dan Muttart, the Rev. Dr. Richard Morledge and the Rev. Donn Ed. Burial will be in North Cemetery, Butler, followed by a luncheon at the Butler Country Club to celebrate Jack's life.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Rotary Foundation, 14280 Collections Center Drive, Chicago, IL 60693 or to Hosanna Industries, 109 Rinard Lane, Rochester, PA 15074.Directions and condolences are available at www.mcdonald-aeberli.com.
